Palo Verde volleyball rolls past Durango, moves to 5-0 in league

Even against a team missing one of its top players, Palo Verde boys volleyball coach Phil Clarke insisted his players bring the same fire they would have in a playoff match.

That message was received loud and clear.

Chandler Juilfs and Scott Solan each had nine kills Thursday as the host Panthers made quick work of Durango, earning a 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 victory.

“We’ll take any win in our division,” Clarke said. “They are all battles. … I know they were down Mike (Diggins), which obviously is a big part of them. But, still, they’re scrappy and they play hard.”

Diggins, a 6-foot-8-inch outside hitter, was traveling for AAU basketball so Palo Verde (24-9, 5-0 Southwest League) tried to take advantage.

The Panthers came out on fire, starting the first set on a 7-1 run. After Durango pulled within 14-11, Palo Verde used a 7-2 run following a timeout to take control.

The Trailblazers didn’t fold, and led for a good portion of the second set, which featured seven ties.

But Haden Van Orden provided the key boost down the stretch for the defending Division I state champions.

With Palo Verde leading 16-15, Van Orden served three straight points, including an ace, to extend the lead to 19-15. He then assisted on the set-winning kill to Juilfs.

“We did the opposite on Tuesday and dropped the first two (sets),” Clarke said. “So it was nice not to drop into a hole like that. We had guys making some plays.”

In the third set, Durango took a 3-0 lead before allowing the Panthers to quickly bounce back. Palo Verde grabbed its first lead, 7-6, on an error by the Trailblazers and never trailed again.

“We knew we were going to be pretty different from last year’s team,” Clarke said. “We lost six seniors and five starters. When you look at what we lost from our team and our core, it definitely looked bad. But we kind of knew the potential was there. Were the (juniors) going to step into those roles? Some of them have, and Scott (Solan) has been playing a lot bigger than a freshman.”

Van Orden, who won a joust at the net for the match’s final point, finished with 31 assists. Jacob Scheer added 13 digs for the Panthers.

Jaylen Clark had 15 kills, five digs and two blocks to pace Durango (20-14, 2-3).

Jason Landman added seven kills and three blocks, and Andre Shabazz had 32 assists and six digs for the Trailblazers, who got three aces and six digs from Marc Viernes.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson